Flora of North America species comparison

(30)50-110 cm, clumped, erect, glabrous or pubescent.

20-80 (100) cm, erect, glabrous or retrorsely pubescent below the nodes.

2-3 per culm;

sheaths scabridulous or pilose;

ligules 1.5-3 mm, truncate, erose to lacerate;

blades (8.5)15-20+ cm long, (3)7-12 mm wide, flat, ascending, lax at maturity, often scabridulous.

usually concentrated on the lower 1/3 of the culms;

sheaths glabrous or sparsely retrorse-pilose, sometimes scabridulous;

ligules (1.2)2.5^1(6) mm, truncate to rounded;

blades to 15 cm long, 2-7 mm wide, flat, ascending, lax, smooth or scabrous, sometimes sparsely pilose, often involute near the sometimes prowlike apices.

10-30 cm long, (1)2-9 cm wide, open, nodding, green or tan, occasionally purple-tinged;

branches 2-12+ cm, most, except sometimes the uppermost, spikelet-bearing only towards the apices, with the basal (1/5)1/3-1/2 bare, filiform, flexuous, at least the lowest 1-3 whorls spreading or drooping.

(10)20-40(50) cm long, usually 1-1.5 cm wide, stiffly erect, green, tan, or purple-tinged;

branches appressed-ascending, the spikelets evenly distributed.

6-12 mm, subsessile to pedicellate, pedicels to 2 cm, usually with 2-3 functional florets below 1-2 reduced florets;

rachilla internodes and hairs 1-2.5 mm;

disarticulation above the glumes, beneath the florets.

4-7(8) mm, usually subsessile, rarely on pedicels to 4 mm, ovate, with 2(3) florets;

rachilla internodes 1.5-2 mm;

rachilla hairs to 1 mm.

unequal;

lower glumes 0.75-2(3) mm, subulate;

upper glumes 3.5-5 mm long, shorter than the lowest florets, 2-3 times as wide as the lower glumes, widest at or above the middle, ovate or obovate, rounded to the acuminate apices;

callus hairs to 1 mm;

lemmas 5-6 mm, broadly lanceolate, glabrous, bifid, teeth to 1.3 mm, awned, awns (7)9-14 mm, arising from above midlength to just below the teeth, exceeding the lemma apices, arcuate to flexuous;

paleas shorter than the lemmas;

anthers about 1 mm.

subequal, usually longer than the lowest florets;

lower glumes 4-7 mm;

upper glumes 4-6.5 mm, a little wider than the lower glumes;

callus hairs shorter than 0.5 mm;

lemmas 4-6.5 mm, lanceolate, firmer than the glumes, scabridulous-puberulent, obscurely bifid, unawned or awned, awns to 2 mm, arising just below and rarely exceeding the apices;

paleas shorter than the lemmas;

anthers (0.6)1(1.5) mm.

2.5-3.2 mm, densely to sparsely pubescent.

to 3 mm, pubescent.

= 42.

= 14.